I learn new songs with Tonelib Jam.
To improve my timing, I would like to use a metronome VST plugin because the built-in metronome is not very loud and also inflexible.
I found MeldaProduction MMetronome, which looks great. Unfortunately it doesn’t work in ToneLib Jam.
Interestingly, it shows the BPM, also in sync with the track, but you don’t hear/see anything.
See video:
Does anyone have ideas about how to get this to work?
Sounds like a problem with the host app (Tonelib).
Yeah, I think it is. It works perfectly in Presonus Studio One 6.
I just wish to understand why this happens. Obviously it needs “something” to start. But what? And … can I simulate this? Possibly with another plugin?
For Logic, one needs to do this: “To route an audio to the plugin’s side-chain (if it has one), a side-chain source should be available in the top of the plugin’s window, so simply select the source track you want to send to the plugin’s side-chain.”
Don’t understand that sentence, to be honest. But can I somehow simulate this?
Not unless the host supports sidechain routing.
Bottom line, Tonelib (like Audacity) is not a DAW and is also (like Audacity) looking like a poor choice for a plugin host.
Would something like DDMF Metaplugin work?
It’s a plugin wrapper, and might get Mmetronome to start?
I’m writing this without any understanding of what it does and how it does it 
You could just use a real DAW instead
My DAW is Presonus Studio One 6. My practice tool is ToneLib Jam. And it is very good at that.
But it could be better, if I could get a proper metronome to work.
I could create a drum track as a workaround, but I prefer something more intelligent.
I tested three plugins, but either I don’t know how to get it to work or it does not work:
Next I’ll try Sigmod, but I have not too much hope…
why not just use the DAW as the practice tool? They are excellent for this.
Guitar Pro does that and you can run a metronome with it. You can drop the backing track plus notation in various formats (including PDF) into it and then play it. It doesn’t scroll but does run a cursor along the music as it goes.
I have Guitar Pro too, but find it not as good as Tonelib Jam for learning and practicing.
I use GP a lot for editing or changing tuning.
I haven’t used the metronome of GP yet. Will test it … maybe I can export it as GP5 or MIDI!?
Haven’t tried that. Also, to be fair, the cursor tends to lag behind the music a little whilst playing.
Yeah, and this is one of the things I really like about Tonelib Jam: it’s always perfectly synched with the GP tabs and the audio!
Another thought is that one of the few things I still use Audacity for is generating a metronome track. However it doesn’t seem to lock into the actual track and so drifts if the band hasn’t stayed solid on their timing. However I used it to mix the metronome into a backing track for a couple of jazz numbers where I found the drum a little difficult to follow. You can then export either the combined tracks or just the metronome track into an mp3 to play along to.
Audacity would not use the timing of the GP tabs. Look at the video above - you’ll see the BPM changes over time. It’s not fixed.
My current workaround is adding a drum track and “abuse” it as a metronome.
A better solution would be a metronome VST that works. I already contacted MeldaProduction so they add a START/STOP button.
So export the tab as a MIDI file, load it in the DAW, and set the DAW to standard notation view? Then you can learn sheet music instead
(alternatively, email the Tonelib guy and ask him to fix the plugin hosting)
Sheet music is very low on my “to learn” list. Also I think that Presonus Studio One does not display standard notation.
Also - would MIDI preserve the fretting/string positions? If I remember correctly, this is not the case!?
I would rather like to understand the protocol/mechanism that is used to signal a plugin to start.
Obviously it gets the BPM information per bar, so that’s good.
What’s missing is a start signal.
Do you have theories what that could be? If I knew this I could look for a plugin that emulates that…
PS Already mailed the MeldaProductions guy and asked for a start/stop button. This was implemented on request, I think for the Drums plugin
For Tonelib I have not such a good feeling … their update politics s#cks!
But I will try!
While there technically isn’t an absolute need, it opens a lot of doors.
No, of course not. Why would it?
Bummer, many will. Not a very used feature most likely though.
This is going to take a lot longer than you think. But if you like, Steinberg makes the VST API available as free software.
No, actually, it gets the host MIDI time clock. The BPM can change over time. I actually forget if it is ever notified of the project BPM as a specific number, need to look.
(edit: it’s passed in the ProcessData context as well as in the timecode).
Here you go, if curious. This is of course just for the VST API, not other plugin formats.
So the ongoing time updates from the host midi clock are sent in there in several different formats. Probably the most interesting for a metronome are processTimeMusic and barPositionMusic. The tempo is also there but seems less important overall than the other two (along with the timesig) - it’s most important for a metronome during init and when it changes. Note that all of the things like BPM and time signature can (and often do) change dynamically mid-song and sometimes mid-bar.
Also note that these do not necessarily correspond to wall clock time. Plugins typically will get the data to process before it is time to actually play it. Additionally, consider batch processing (like rendering the final cut) which runs much faster than real time.
